An electronic fuse (eFUSE) is normally used to configure elements after the silicon masking and fabrication process. These fuses typically are used to configure circuits for customization or to correct silicon manufacturing defects and increase manufacturing yield.
As the use of eFUSEs increases, the potential use is expanding into the application area. For example, a given application may have a pool of eFUSEs that may be viewed as One-Time Programmable (OTP) memory. In the case of a central processor unit (CPU) accessing the OTP memory, the memory elements are initially all not blown and a program running on the CPU may execute commands to do so by forcing current through a fusable link.
Confidential information programmed in an eFUSE can be hacked by observing a current waveform on the programming supply during programming.